Question: I came across the question of whether Catholics are
Christians. You need to take a closer look. You see, I am a Catholic and
I am just as much Christian as you. For you to sit there and say that
Catholics aren't Christians is wrong. I pray for people like you who
believe that one person is right over another. I am not going to Heaven
because I am Catholic. I am going to Heaven because I believe that Jesus
is our Lord and Savior and that he died for our sins. I will pray for
you and for those people that you influence on a daily basis that they
may go the right way instead of the wrong way. I have no clue where you
get your information. I don't believe that I have ever heard any
Catholic saying that Mary is the GATE TO HEAVEN and that we have to
enter through her. You need to quit putting down this CHRISTIAN
religion. Quit saying we are wrong. The devil has come over you because
this is not something a true Christian would do. This is very wrong.

Answer: Since you are convinced that I am wrong, you do well
to pray for me and warn me clearly about the beliefs that you consider
erroneous. You told me that the devil has come over me, and what I’m
doing is judgmental, unchristian and very wrong. That is much better
than to say, as many speak today, that it does not really matter what we
believe and do as long as we are sincere. Sincerity is not enough. I can
be sincerely wrong, and I want people like you to point out my mistakes.
That way I can see my errors and change.

Like you, I am convinced that there is a right way and a wrong way.
Not every road leads to heaven. After all Jesus warns us about the broad
road leading to destruction and the straight and narrow road leading to
life.

I trust that you appreciate why I speak the way I do. Place yourself
in my position for a moment. Suppose you were convinced that there are
some doctrinal errors in the official teaching of the Catholic Church,
and that these errors are serious enough that they can mislead a person
from the true Gospel of Christ. What would you do? I'm sure you would be
on your knees praying and warning Catholics about these mistakes, and
pointing them to the truth. That is why I speak the way I do. Not
because I hate Catholics. Neither because I enjoy controversy and
polemics. It is simply because I love Catholics enough to tell them the
truth even though I am often labeled "anti-catholic" and judgmental
and so on.

Now of course you may say, "Yes, your motives may be genuine, but
you wrongly judge the Catholic religion. How do you know that you are
right?"

Let’s take an example which you mentioned yourself. You were
surprised by what I wrote about Mary. “I don't believe that I have
ever heard of us saying that she is the GATE TO HEAVEN and that we have
to enter through her.” Just for the sake of argument, let’s say that
there are some Catholics who believe that Mary is the Gate to Heaven.
Suppose they are trying to enter heaven through her. What would you do?
May I guess?

You will probably tell them, “Listen, we can go to Heaven by faith
in Jesus. He is the Lord and Savior. He alone died for our sins. Jesus
is the gate to heaven. He said, 'I am the door. If anyone enters by Me,
he will be saved.' And again, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 10:9; 14:6).
So please, don’t call on Mary 'the gate to heaven' but rather believe in
the Lord Jesus, the true gate, the only way to the Father.”

Still, you may respond, “Yes, I would tell them something like that
if they really believed that Mary is the gate. But this business of Mary
being the Gate of Heaven is something you invented. I never heard it
before in the Catholic Church.”

In my childhood experience as a Catholic, I used to daily address
Mary with the title “Gate of Heaven.” I can assure you that I am not
an exception. Millions of Catholics who say the Litany of Mary - which
is often included at the end of the rosary - do the same. Among the many titles that
Mary is given, one of them is "Gate of Heaven." Similarly, in the
devotional book, "The Glories of Mary," Saint Alphonsus Liguori
writes: “Mary is called the Gate of Heaven because no one can enter
that blessed Kingdom without passing through her.” Please check this
out for yourself.

I sincerely hope that you are a true Christian. If you believe in
Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, trusting in nothing and nobody else for
your salvation, then certainly you are saved and a child of God. You
would also want to disassociate yourself from false teaching - such as Mary
being the Gate of Heaven - and hopefully, even proclaim the truth to the
victims of this and similar errors.

Copyright Dr Joe Mizzi.
Permission to copy and distribute this article without textual changes. <
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